In current bowling lane constructions, it is difficult to keep the lane surface perfectly level. Shims maybe used at appropriate locations to raise selected areas of the lane relative to others, but it is difficult once the lane has been constructed to gain access to such areas beneath the lane and it is time consuming and laborious to carry out such efforts. Accordingly, one important object of the present invention is to provide a bowling lane construction wherein the topography of the lane can be relatively quickly and easily adjusted both at the time of initial installation and at any and all times thereafter.
In carrying out the foregoing object, the present invention contemplates the use of multiple supporting truss assemblies beneath the bowling lane that are provided with height adjustment mechanisms operable to raise or lower selected portions of the lane. Preferably, such mechanisms are remotely actuatable from a convenient location. In this regard, one preferred embodiment of the present invention contemplates having remote actuators for the various adjustment devices located along the length of the lane in convenient areas such as under a capping structure adjacent the gutters so that, upon removal of the capping structure, the operator has immediate access to the actuators. One way of providing such remote manipulation of the adjustment mechanism is through an arrangement of chains and sprockets leading from bolt-type actuators to adjustment mechanisms associated with each truss assembly. Other forms of remote actuators may comprise various types of control devices connected electrically with motors associated with the adjustment mechanisms.
Upright members of the adjustment mechanism are shiftable upwardly or downwardly as a result of operating the remote actuators to cause consequential changes in the vertical position of selected lane portions. In a preferred embodiment, the lane may be adjusted for side-to-side tilt at various locations along its length. Another embodiment provides for the creation or reduction of crowns and depressions in the lane at specific locations, while a further embodiment combines both side-to-side tilt and crown/depression adjustment.